Optional
by Ravenclaw Alchemist
Summary: "You can't judge a book by its cover," people say. Well, I can. Just by looking at someone, I can see their personality. Call it a gift. A gift that really helps me a play a game with a set of mischievous twins... KaoruxOCxHikaru, Sequel to Fortunate, can be read alone.
1. The Color of Unfortunate Accidents

**Hey guys!**

**I finally got this out! Wohoo!**

**THIS IS A SEQUEL! You technically don't have to read _Fortunate_ first, but I highly reccomend it. It's on my profile.**

**For those of you that want to skip _Fortunate_ and head right to this, there are some things for you to know that are adressed in _Fortunate_.**

** 1. AU timeline. Mori and Honey graduate the year before Haruhi goes to America.**

** 2. April is Kyoya's girlfriend.**

**3. They've been dating since the year before. **

**4. April's family owns Rukinia Medical, which is the rival company of Otori Medical.**

**5. Kyoya's father wants April to marry Yuuichi, Kyoya's older brother.**

**6. This mainly follows Cyan Solovyov. There'll still be plenty Kyopril, but mainly KaoruxCyanxHikaru**

**I think that's everything. PM me for questions, or read the first story. **

**I present to you Chapter 1: The Color of Unfortunate Accidents**

* * *

(CYAN)

Tess had a fierce grip on my arm as she dragged me past up the stairs. Her under-aura was the same-old dark greenish shade, symbolizing her annoying questioning nature, but the small swirls on top of the green that showed emotion were now hot pink – the color of love. She was glowing so bright it was giving me a migraine.

"What's going on?" I managed as I almost tripped.

"The Host Club! I told you last year that as soon as we got back I would make you came with me! Plus, Mori's visiting from college today!" Tess grinned, obviously thinking of her boyfriend of two months. She was a year older than me, but we had met through Black Magic Club. Unfortunately, with my cousin Nekozawa's graduation last spring it had disbanded, leaving me with a dispersed social circle and damaged blondish hair.

"Can I pass? I don't feel like seeing guys go through girls like tissues during a cold."

"That's why we have to be there; to make sure no other girls have the chance to get to Mori!"

Honestly, I didn't see what the infamous Strong-and-Silent-Type saw in the altogether too cheerful Tessandra Knight. Then again, he did have the little bunny-boy that was on an equal level of joviality...

"How am I supposed to do that? I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not that into him."

"Pretend? For me?" She made a puppy dog face back at me, with us still travelling at about fifteen miles an hour. I could never understand how she moved so fast uphill while wearing spiked leather combat boots.

I groaned. "It's going to be so _boring_, though!"

"Fine. You don't have to help, but you do have to be there. If you want, you could talk to some of the other hosts. Tamaki usually has quite a few visitors, and Honey's going to be absolutely swamped, but I'm sure you could squeeze in with Haruhi or Hikaru and Kaoru."

"What were those last two names?" I asked as we stopped in front of the doors to Music Room #3.

"Hikaru and Kaoru. Why?" Now the swirls in her aura were half-pink, half the light green of curiosity.

"They sound vaguely familiar. I think I met them somewhere…" I bit my index finger in thought.

"Come on! We have to get in now, or else he'll be completely swarmed!" Back to the nauseatingly bright pink swirlies. Yay me.

Tess dragged me through the main doors. In front of me, slightly visible over the heads of the horde of girls was Mori, with Honey on his shoulders. The other hosts were standing back, wearing some strange cosplay togas that appeared to be from Ancient Egypt. I skirted around the squealing girls – there were at least twenty of them surrounding the college duo – and made my way over to an antique couch.

"Hello, princess. Is it your first time here?"

I turned around and saw a blonde boy sporting an elaborate headdress, his under-aura a caring dark pink with swirls of more lightish pink.

"Yeah, but I'm not here by choice, Mister Womanizer, so go flirt with someone else," I said, picking at my half-chipped red nail polish. I felt him sit down next to me, and before I knew it, his face was far too close to my own for comfort.

"Princess, look into my eyes. Do I look like the type to invent romance? Am I the man who would lay fake claims of love onto one as gorgeous as you? All I want is to see you quake with the same passion I feel when I look at you; into the beautiful oasis's you claim to be something as mundane as eyes. I am but a poor merchant, wandering the dessert, and alas! Out of the sand emerges you, my goddess, my divine! I thirst for nothing but your presence and hunger for naught but your affection, even if only given for a day, a minute, a second! Do you not grant me such a simple request?"

"Why should I? You're just as boring as the next guy," I said with a roll of my eyes. The blonde gasped and turned quite literally white before stumbling to a corner to pout. Two snickering twins sat down to my right.

"That was great!" the one farthest to the right said. His under-aura was slightly more yellow than his brother's, though they both were orange, meaning mischievous. There was an identical shade of dark crimson joyfulness in both of their swirls.

"Did you see his face?" asked the one closest to me.

"Priceless!" they said together.

"You're Hikaru and Kauru, right?" I asked. "Did I meet you somewhere?"

"I don't know-"

"-But you don't look familiar to me."

I looked at them for a second, then it hit me. "The Otori thing! I knew I knew you."

"Huh?" they asked at once.

"I met you there. You made me play a stupid game, and I _won_, and then you said I lost."

They glanced at each other for a second, then back at me. One nodded.

"I remember now. You were wearing one of the dresses Mom designed, but your hair was blackish and clashed hideously with your eyebrows."

"Oh, her," the one on the opposite end of the couch from me nodded. "Nekogirl."

"What did you just call me?"

"Long story," they shrugged.

After sending them a questioning glance, I turned back to the depressed blonde, ever so slightly guilty. I mean, usually my offhand remarks would make someone angry or annoyed, but not growing-mushrooms-in-a-corner depressed. "Will he be okay?"

"Yeah, he does that all the time. It's his fault for being so touchy-feely," the redhead next to me shrugged.

"Oh, Hikaru, like you're one to talk," The one farthest away, who I now assumed was Kaoru, murmured with a heavy blush.

"I'm sorry - have I embarrassed you Kaoru?" Hikaru held his brother's head to his shoulder tenderly. "I promise not to do it again."

I raised an eyebrow, attempting to successfully hide my ever-so-slightly racing heart. "Are you... acting?"

"Why would you assume that?" They asked innocently.

"Don't you secretly enjoy it?"

They stood up, leaning on each other's shoulders.

"After all, having two lovers-"

"With such a close bond-"

"Is any girl's fantasy."

The last phrase was whispered into my ears, loud enough to be unmistakable and quiet enough to send a shiver down my spine. I quickly bit down on my tongue to keep from saying something stupid and put up a bored front.

"Sorry, but you'll have to work a bit harder to impress me."

"Oh, hard to get," they chorused, emotion turning an amused bright red. "Challenge accepted."

Just about then, another girl walked into the club. Her light brown hair was in a complex looking braid running down her back, but despite that fanciness she didn't look like the other girls in here. She held herself more like someone… someone who had something to do and anyone stalling her would be sent to burn eternally in Hell.

"Kyoya-senpai," she addressed the guy a few yards behind the couch, who was writing in his notebook. She looked familiar, and I thought she had something to do with the Otori's party too, though I couldn't put my finger on it. "I hate to intrude, but I was wondering if the Host Club was going to be… well_, hosting_ a homecoming party."

"We are indeed. Might I inquire why?" He asked, not looking up from his notebook. It was on the tip of my tongue…

It was about then that I caught on to the flashes of flamingo pink streaking through their equally calculating yellow auras.

"Oh," I exclaimed to the twins. "She's Kyoya's girlfriend, right?"

They both clapped their hands over my mouth and looked around. Though I couldn't turn to see the couple behind us, no one seemed to have heard.

"Shhh!" Hikaru hissed.

"We don't speak of it in public!"

"My aunt's granddaughter is flying in from Boston soon, and she wanted to know if she could advertise any events to convince her to come sooner," The girl continued. Her name was… May? June? Something along those lines.

"We'd be happy to host an Oshiro on any of our regular business hours as well, if she so desires, Miss Grey."

"I'd be more than happy to share that with her. Thank you, Kyoya-senpai." She cast him a warm smile before exiting, skirting around the mob that still surrounded Honey and Mori.

The twins looked at me suspiciously.

"Let's talk somewhere more private," Kaoru said, not releasing his hand from my mouth.

* * *

The two dragged me into the abandoned Science Room #2, one still holding my hands behind my back, the other closing the door behind us.

"Should I fear for my life?" I asked while attempting to wriggle out of Hikaru's firm grip.

"Not really, but we do need to induce amnesia," Kaoru said, procuring a baseball bat from near the counter.

"Are you effing kidding me? That's-"

The door creaked open, revealing the girl from before. "Guys, that isn't at all necessary. Also, covering it up would take more resources than are available to us."

"Well, what do you suggest we do, Shadow Queen?" Hikaru asked, seeming slightly agitated. "If Kyoya's-"

"I fully understand that." She walked inside, closing the door after her. "I've been well aware of Miss Solovyov's knowledge of our relationship for over seven months. And beating her with a baseball bat won't _definitely_ ensure amnesia anyways."

He released me with a grumble and I rubbed my wrists.

"Thanks," I muttered.

The girl nodded in acknowledgement, the turned back to the twins. "Miss Solovyov's statement meant no harm; she only forgot the relatively large fact that I specifically instructed her to _keep her mouth shut_."

I felt slightly unnerved by the calmness of the girl's stance since I could see the hot, furious light blue searing the edges of her aura. Looking back on it, I did half remember promising to keep their relationship on the down-low…

"Um… sorry?" I asked with a nervous smile. "Anyways, I thought you didn't hear me."

"I'm not deaf. Anyone withing five yards heard you. You're very lucky that Kyoya, the twins, and I were the only ones nearby," she scowled. At least her aura had moved slightly from angry light blue towards a more annoyed ocean blue.

"Yeah, I know, you're pretty frustrated, irritated, and a bit angry," I waved my hand nonchalantly. "Can I go now?"

"No, I don't believe so. I have more business to address with you to ensure that this little slip-up will not happen again. I assume you know who I am-"

"Well, I really don't, so you might want to start there."

She gave me an exasperated look and waved for the twins to leave. "This might take a while. You're free to go."

"Nah, I want to hear this," Kaoru shrugged.

"I get the feeling there's an interesting backstory coming up," Hikaru supplied. They sat down on the counter of a lab-table to observe us.

"If you insist. I suppose I should supply you, Cyan, with some preliminary information, considering your lack of it. I am April Grey, CEO of Rukinia Medical Association and owner of various companies in England. I'm in class 2-A, as opposed to your 2-D. And before we start, I want to make it clear that I – at present, at least – don't think very highly of you."

I cocked my head to the side and blinked twice. "Why not? I mean, I'm not the most responsible person out there, sure -"

April cut me off with a snort. "Understatement of the year. According to your file, you've failed to show up at six schools you were enrolled in Spain. Your GPA is less than a 2.5, though your IQ is 123, which is high enough by all counts. Not once have you shown your face at an extra-curricular activity by choice. Your uniform barely resembles the one you bought, since you insisted on dying it bright red, for some reason. Despite your rebellion, you've never done anything worthwhile with your fiery passion of disloyalty towards… well, whatever you feel chains you in. All you ever do is run away from issues." She shook her head in distaste, not a lock of hair falling out of place. "You also seem to claim some supernatural powers to draw attention. Quite sad, really."

I sneered at her, angry she would dare suggest I was a lazy, lying rebel. I was way better than that_; _I was only a lazy rebel. "I don't see you doing anything particularly amazing."

"Really? I own and manage seven companies - only one of which in this country and two of which are multi-billion – speak four languages, including Japanese and English, have a perfect 4.0 record, even from when I attended Lobelia's, and manage to stay off-radar with my boyfriend."

It was official. I didn't like this chick. I guess I could understand why she was being angry and snide – for some reason, no one could find out about her and Kyoya - and I had almost blown it. Still, she was overreacting. No one heard me, and even if they did, they'd dismiss it as a silly rumor.

"Why does it matter? So someone finds out, big whoop," I shrugged. "And? What's the worst that could happen?"

"Any number of things, each more unpleasant than the last," her voice had dropped quieter now, and I felt a slight chill run through my veins when her hazel eyes met my teal ones. The swirls in her aura were the color of ice. "But trust me, whatever might happen because of you, I'm able to inflict a tenfold of pain and humiliation onto your family name."

Now it was my turn to snort. "See if I care. My family and I don't really get along."

This seemed to amuse her slightly, due to the almost unnoticeable red in one swirl and ever so slight smirk. "I see we have one thing in common."

"How so?"

"My mother left me when I was two. My step-mother was a raging alcoholic. My grandmother on my father's side believes I'm possessed, and has since I was about seven," she shrugged, as if it wasn't important. "I suppose my father's sister Rachael was alright until I turned twelve, she noticed I had no interest in fancy clothes and celebrities, and stopped talking to me. All in all, I haven't spoken to any member of my blood family at all in the last three and a half months."

I noticed she had ignored mentioning her dad in any of her figures, and decided to bring it up. "And your father?"

"It's complicated," she said evenly, though I saw the wave of dark purple sadness crash through her aura. I chose not to question any further.

"Okay. I promise not to talk 'bout you and Kyo-Kyo again. Now can I go?"

"I suppose, if you never call him that again," she said, not breaking her glare. Her aura had calmed to indifference – though annoyance was still interlaced with it – which was the darkest blue imaginable, interwoven with sparks of cold flame on a pale yellow backdrop.

"Great!" I walked towards the door victoriously. I turned around and waved at the twins, who were having some sort of unspoken conversation. "Bye, Hikaru, Bye Kaoru. Pleasure to meet you, I guess." I addressed the one farthest from me with the orangest under-aura first, remembering the 'Which One Is Hikaru Game'. I'd show them. 'Claiming supernatural powers for attention' - my ass. I'd prove it to them – all of them –that I wasn't lying. Even if it meant seeing April every lunch recess for the rest of the year, I'd prove to her that I could actually see auras.

_It shouldn't be too hard, _I thought. _She's all bark, no bite_. _Sure she can talk all fancy, but there's no way she's as closed off and emotionless as she tries to be._

Unfortunately, I underestimated her. By a lot.

* * *

**Can we aim to get five reviews before next weekend? I'm sure it's possible. Click the button; Fanfiction remodeled it for a reason!**


	2. The Color of New Games

**Hey again!**

**#1 - Oh my *effing* God! Eight reviews (Death The Kid would be so proud of you)! That's tice the number that Fortunate got on it's first chapter! do you think we can get that many again? Pwease?**

**#2 - To avoid the comments I'm sure I'm going to get, I would like to say that yes, I do know that there are kind, sweet boys under the age of ten. Unfortunately, this story has none of them.**

**#3 - I don't own OHSHC. I just like playing with the characters, so... yeah. This applies to all chapters, future and prior.**

**#4 - for those of you new to the ride, I want to make it clear that 50% of the time, I put some form of complaint in my Author's Note. You can just skip over those parts. None today, but in the future be prepared to hear me grieve since my family is *effing* insane. Though yes, I know my 'friend' Madison's family is worse, but at least her sister _is_ on meds, while mine _really_ needs some.**

**#5 - I present to you Chapter 2: The Color of New Games**

* * *

(CYAN)

I made it halfway down the stairs to the front door before two redheads appeared a few stairs before me, leaning on each other's shoulders.

"So," they said together, auras a shade of light green curiosity. "How can you tell us apart?"

"Oh, it's easy, really." I shrugged and turned to the twin to the left. "Kaoru, you're more thoughtful than Hikaru. You-" I turned to Hikaru. "-Are more easily amused and immature, according to the pure orange of your under-aura."

"Under-_armor_?" Hikaru asked, confused.

"Under-_aura_. Listen much?"

I made to walk out the door, but was halted by two hands on my shoulders.

"Nope," Hikaru said.

"You aren't leaving just yet," Kaoru finished. "We have some more –"

"-Questions for you," Hikaru ended the sentence. I sighed and leaned against the staircase railing, getting an idea.

"You two like games, right? Let's play Twenty Questions."

"And the rules?" they asked together.

"You two will get twenty potential questions total, since you're playing as a team. They can be asked about anything, and I have to answer. But, you can only ask _one_ question a day. You can take as many days in between questions as you want. The same goes for me."

Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other, then nodded.

"You got a deal. Our question for the day is…"

"How does seeing auras work?"

"Well, it's a kind of glow that surrounds a person. It extends about a foot around their bodies. There's one color that doesn't change – except over long periods of time or with a life-changing event – which I call the under-aura. It shows personality through a certain, very specific color. Then, on top of it, are all these little spirals, usually towards the outside of the aura. They show emotion. For example, Kaoru," I gestured to the mostly light orange glow that surrounded him. "You're currently curious and confused, which is a pure green. Hikaru, you're skeptical, which is a medium-darkish blue."

"Wait, so exactly which colors correspond with which emotion?" Kaoru asked.

"Sorry, you've already used up your one question a day maximum. See you tomorrow," I smiled as I walked out the door victoriously. Hopping in the Cyan-Solovyov-Specially-Altered-Limo (Which I had painted my favorite shade of cherry red and installed spiky hubcaps) I remembered where I was heading and that my 'home' probably cancelled out the positive grin spreading over my face for no apparent reason.

_Oh, too bad. It isn't every day you meet a pair of hot, potentially bisexual twins. Ah, brotherly love~ _

Their words echoed through my brain, too damn infectious for their own good.

_'Any girl's fantasy'… well, even idiots are right sometimes. _

I was lost in 'personal thoughts' for a few minutes before shaking my head to snap myself out of it.

_At the very least, I'll keep them interested for a while. This could be fun._

_I think I'm really going to love this year._

* * *

Of course, that dream was crushed as soon as I stepped in through the front door of my house. Not only am I the only girl in my siblings, I'm also the middle child. The middle child of five kids.

"CyCy!" my youngest brother, Jeffrey, called. He was only four, and - despite the fact he looked like a cherub - was complete and total evil; his under-aura and tendrils eternally the dark blue of true indifference to everyone else. He honestly wouldn't give a crap if I fell down the stairs. "Come hewe!"

"What, Jeffre-eeeeeh!"

As I had begun walking down the mansion's main hallway to see to him, I slid on a chocolate covered portion of the polished wooden floor. I looked at the small boy angrily.

"Jeffery, what was that?"

"Chocowate!" he giggled. I picked myself up and looked at the five foot long chocolate slick on the floor.

"You're cleaning that up."

"Naw, CyCy, you awe. Mommy said you'we in chawge so you have to cwean up ouw messes."

"What? Why isn't Toby?" I groaned. Toby was my oldest brother, also an ambitionless lump – more so than even me – and skilled procrastinator.

"Toby's at Cousin Neko's house! So is James, and Ethan and I awe hungwy."

Ugh. Ethan. The boy who was eternally sticky with _something_. I guess that was a common theme with seven-year-old boys.

"What do you two want, then?" I asked as I picked myself up.

"We want cookieth!" Ethan said, appearing from the staircase. He was the only one in the family with black hair, and James – the brains of the family, though he wasn't incredibly smart – had once speculated he was Mom's love child from a secret affair. Considering both my parents were Russian and blonde, it wasn't too far-fetched. The slimeball was also missing his front teeth.

"I'm not giving you cookies. What else?"

"Candy?" Ethan asked, looking disappointed.

"Nope. How about you have Edna make you a sandwich?"

I internally shuddered as I thought of what the strong-willed, feminist April would say to me suggesting our female chef make the small white boy a sandwich. I was sure it would be colorful.

"Eww! Nathty! I want cookieth!" Ethan whined.

"Not gonna happen."

"We'w tew mommy on you," Jeffery crossed his arms, trying to look imperial.

"For God's sake, just tell the butler to get you whatever you want."

"The butler told uth that we needed your perith…parmith…"

"Permission. And tell him I said 'whatever, go ahead'."

I walked up the spiraling stairs to my room, where I changed out of the now stained red dress and into designer black jeans and a red tank top. I groaned, annoyed, as I sat down on my bed. Images of the twins flooded my mind's eye again, and I mentally reviewed our conversation. They were genuinely interested in what I was saying, though Hikaru didn't quite believe me. Well, that was alright; if I could convince April, it would convince him.

_I'll have to work on _that_ tomorrow,_ I thought slyly.

* * *

The next day at noon, I spent a good five minutes searching the cafeteria, trying to locate Miss Major-Superiority-Complex. I did manage to run into Kyoya – well, I saw him from across the dining hall, ordering lunch.

"Oy, loverboy, where's the girl?" I asked, approaching him.

He cast me a fake curious look, and I saw the annoyance seeping into his aura. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Miss Solovyov. Have you mistaken me for someone else?"

"Oh come on, I just need to talk to your-"

"I believe you _have_ erroneously approached me. The person you intend to be addressing is _in the library_, not here."

"Oh, sorry," I said, catching on to his hint and walking away. After that, finding her was a breeze. She was sitting at one of the small tables enclosed by bookshelves, eating from a Chinese takeout container with one hand and tapping away at an expensive laptop with the other. Sheesh, talk about a workaholic.

"What'cha doing?" I asked, sliding in the seat across from her.

"Somethin' important," she said through a bite of chow mein. Her aura's tendrils started to turn from yellow concentration to blue annoyance. I smiled. Though all I really needed to do was show her she was wrong about thinking I was lying, irking the crap out of her was a fun pastime.

"Can I see?" I leaned toward her laptop.

"No."

She hadn't looked up yet, despite her irritation. I found that quite unsatisfactory. I stared hard at her for a few seconds, and though I felt her exasperation with me build, she still didn't let her eyes stray from her computer screen. Losing my patience, I waved my hand furiously in front of her face, causing her to sigh in discontentment but not meet my glare.

"April," I drew the word out considerably. "Why aren't you any fun?"

"Because I'm busy. Go play with the twins if I'm so boring. You seemed to find them… entertaining, did you not? They usually enjoy company, especially of someone_ so_ intruiging."

The statement was accompanied by an ever so slight smirk, which I chose to ignore.

"I'm obligated to stay until you look at me."

"I can't agree to those terms. That would be letting you win."

"Letting me win?"

"Oh, you haven't recognized that I've recognized it yet. Never mind my thoughtless comment."

"No, now I'm interested. Explain."

"Well, this is obviously a game to you. I'm playing along in the hopes that once you get bored, you'll leave. However, this doesn't mean I'm going to allow you to win in this. I don't admit defeat."

She laced a stray piece of hair – she was wearing it down today – behind her ear. I blinked innocently.

"No, it would just be looking at me. Duh."

She sighed again. "You force my hand, Miss Solovyov. I assure you your time is wasted, but I'll comply nonetheless."

The glare she gave me was potent enough to freeze my blood. I instinctively moved backwards, forgetting I was in a mainly ornamental and tippy chair. By the time I'd picked myself up off the ground, she had returned to her computer screen with a small smirk.

"Not funny," I said with a scowl.

"Actually, it was quite amusing. Would you leave now? I have work to do."

"No; since you want me to go, I'll be staying right here."

"Mhmm."

There were a few minutes of silence, punctuated only by the tapping of her nails on her keyboard. I could tell by her indifference that she wasn't even listening anymore. It was, quite frankly, insulting.

"You know, I feel sorry for loverboy. He has to deal with your frozen ass all the time." I reverted to picking at my nails at her lack of acknowledgement. Even her disposition was back to calculating – she wasn't even paying enough attention to me to be indifferent. This was just plain shameful. No one had ever stood in my way for this long before (besides Jeffery, who had stood in my way for the last four effing years). Then again, I specifically took routes in life that avoided other people.

She didn't respond, and I got the distinct feeling that I needed to hit a nerve. Or say something so vile it would make her physically show some emotion. All I needed was for her to scowl, to blush, to do_ something_ to be satisfied. And she just wasn't going to give that to me.

_Bitch._

I sighed in defeat, getting a new idea what with her statuelike-faceitude. "Fine, you don't like this game. Want to play a new one?"

"Hmm?"

"Let's call it the Bashful Game. The first one to blush at something the other says or does loses."

She tapped her chin in thought. "May I establish some other parameters?"

"Sure," I grinned, knowing she was accepting the challenge.

"First, this game may not be played in the presence of our male counterparts. You can choose someone you don't wish to have this happen around until the time when you find a boyfriend. Second, using public humiliation will result in forfeit. Third, any genre of embarrassment we wish to use is up for grabs, but there is to be no exposing deep secrets better left unsaid. Anything you'd like to add?"

"Nah, sounds good to me."

She looked up from her laptop and offered a dainty hand to shake. I instead gave her a high-five, much to her chagrin.

"You know, April, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship," I smiled sarcastically.

It would scare me how right I was.

* * *

**Honestly, I'm not that happy with this chapter. Things moving to fast? Too slow? Stuff you wanna see/have explained?. What do you guys think? I can't read your minds, just your reviews! Well, and your PMs, but I prefer reviews. Remember, we aim for eight more of 'em, anonymous or signed! And if you get me there, I'll update again on Sunday night!**

***Puppy dog eyes***

**Woof!**


	3. The Color of Questions

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the break, I often have other commitments that I think are importsant but turn out to be really stupid in retrospect.**

**Thanks for all the positive reviews. I wuv all of you!**

**I don't have anything important to say (that I remember), so I want to say I'm updating Friday at the soonest, next Sunday at the latest so I can make myself stick to the scedule. Hope to see y'all soon!**

* * *

I smiled as I walked out of the library, despite the fact I had managed to miss my favorite meal. I knew I would win; I always won games that had anything to do with emotion. Plus, I had another weapon up my sleeve; a certain pair of redheaded twins that were bound to answer twenty, very specific questions that could be about anything I wanted.

Life sure was sweet.

* * *

I spent the rest of my daily classes doodling in my notebook. Though it was only the second day of school, I already had a good five pages of random drawings, caricatures, and profiles recorded in my journal. By the time I got to my math class, I had begun sketching a remodel for my room. I had finished a good half of the west wing by the time the final bell rang.

The route I took to get to the parking lot passed Music Room #3, and I paused momentarily outside the door, debating whether or not to go in. On one hand, the place was crawling with people – no, more like squealing fangirls. Yet, on the other, I had a question to ask the twins. And I couldn't really do it during class since they were in 2A…

I bit my lower lip as I reached for the handle and opened the door. There was no going back.

"Mommy!" I heard a familiar voice connected to a head of blonde hair whine as I pulled open the door. "She's back!"

"Relax, Daddy, she won't come near you," Kyoya said, not looking up from his clipboard. _I can see what April sees in him_, I thought snidely as he continued, this time addressing me. "You don't have an appointment with the twins, Miss Solovyov. I'm afraid that they're completely booked for the next hour."

"How do you know I was going to request – never mind. I guess you and her just know everything, then," I said, tapping my chin. "But considering the twins' nonavailability, it looks like I'll just have to wait around until then, and since I'll be _so_ bored - and _so_ hungry - I suppose I'll just have to eat. And eat. And eat. I'm sure you know just how quickly the cost of good cake grows per slice. It's almost expository."

"The word you're looking for is _exponential_, Miss Solovyov. Though I do know what you mean." He tapped his glasses and scribbled something down on the sheet of paper. "I suppose for a certain fee, I could squeeze you in a half hour from now."

"For God's sake, I just need to ask them a question," I groaned. He met my eyes, a bright gleam on his glasses.

"Is it an important question?"

"Uh huh."

"With all due respect, Miss Solovyov, aren't you willing to cut the waiting time in half to ask it?"

"Can I just ask it now? It won't take long."

"No, they're currently with customers."

I sighed and rubbed my right temple. He was obviously more skilled at giving someone the runaround treatment than a customer-service representative, and the longer I argued the worse it would get. "What type of fee are we talking about?"

"Only thirty-thousand yen," he said with a shrug. "Nothing too expensive for such a special guest."

"You little bastard," I muttered as I pulled my wallet out of my book bag and began thumbing through bills. I was immediately glad that I had asked for my grossly large monthly allowance in cash.

"I prefer the term 'opportunist'," he smiled, which I found frightening in too many ways to count. "And considering the great appeal of the twins since Mori graduated, you're quite lucky I've decided to fit you in at all."

"I know about the whole 'supply and demand' thing. You're charging me extra because I want my time enough to pay." I handed over the money grudgingly.

"That isn't quite supply and demand, but I suppose it is somewhat close. I must admit, though; I would have assumed you knew nothing at all about Economics due to your grades in the subject."

"Oh God, she's rubbing off on – wait, how do you know my grades?"

"The same way Miss Grey does," he mused as he tucked the money under the sheet of paper on his clipboard. I sighed as I sat down on a plush couch.

"Well, where's my cake? I _am_ a paying customer now."

* * *

Four slices of chocolate cake and two cups of tea later, it was finally time for my appointment. I sat down opposite the twins on a small, Victorian style chair with a slight smile.

"What are you doing here?" they asked together, clearly confused from the bright green of their auras. I looked away; the bright, clashing orange and green made my eyes water.

"Well, we don't have any classes together and I didn't see you at lunch, and I have a question for the two of you. I had to find you sometime, so I thought now would be best."

"Shoot," Hikaru said.

"What's everything important that you can tell me about April Grey?" I asked, pulling my notebook and a pen out of my bag.

"Why?" Kaoru asked, cocking his head to one side.

"We're in a… competition, and I need an edge."

"Okay then," Hikaru shrugged. "Well, we don't know that much. We only met her a year ago, and we only see her every once in a while."

"She's usually running around, working on something or other," Kaoru yawned. "She manages all those weird companies."

"Why does she do that, anyway? Does it have anything to do with why she's so stone-faced?" I asked, ready to jot down anything useful.

They looked around before answering, as if she might be listening from some point in the room. After clearing it as safe, they turned back to me.

"Though you're probably not going to believe this, she used to be more… emotional," they hissed together. "Not a lot, but she actually used her expressions once in a while."

"I think she even laughed once," Kaoru murmured, thinking back.

"And that answers my questions how?" I asked, tilting my head slightly to the right.

"We're getting there." Hikaru's expression turned more serious. "Anyways, her dad got into a car accident a few months ago. He just barely survived and is still in a coma. We haven't seen him, but Tamaki did and we've heard it's pretty bad."

"Her dad specified in his will that if anything made him unable to run their companies, she would take over," Kaoru said. "It was only supposed to be a formality since she'd inherit all of them once she turned twenty-five anyway, but since it applies now she took over managing everything. She doesn't show it, but all of it's been rough on her. Ever since then, she's been a bit more robotic. It's just how she deals with it, I guess. She sends it to the back of her mind and tries to just live with it, like she did back in January."

"January? What happened then?"

"We aren't at liberty to say. There's a federal case still going on about it."

"Somehow I don't doubt that."

They smiled, their auras changing slightly more towards amused from thoughtful.

"How did you guys meet her, anyway? Did he-" I nodded toward Kyoya, "-introduce you?"

"Nope. Just the opposite, actually. We were complementing her accent and dragged her down here. After that she degraded Tamaki and he started pouting like he did with you yesterday. Good times," Kaoru nodded, lost in thought. "That's how she met Kyo- her boyfriend."

"So once they go public, we get to expect a huge payday," Hikaru grinned. "They don't like leaving debts alone, and they need to compensate for us keeping their little secret all this time."

I laughed. "That's so stupid. What's she afraid of, his parents not liking her?"

"You don't know?" they chorused, surprised.

"Um, I know they're both all-" I did my best April-glare impersonation. "- but I don't see the problem. Do they have more public relationships 'on the side' or something?"

"No, but I don't know if we're allowed to tell you," Kaoru shrugged.

"It's all very hush-hush," Hikaru added.

"I promise not to tell."

"Swear?"

I sighed and nodded. "I swear on Beelzenef I shall never tell a soul - that doesn't know about this topic - about the conversation we're going to have."

"On Beelzenef?" Hikaru asked.

"Isn't that the creepy doll thing Nekozawa used to have?" Kaoru grimaced.

"Yeah, it's a family heirloom. Neko considers it sacred, so I thought it would be a good thing to swear upon."

"You two are related?"

"Uh huh. Third cousins, though his family and mine are pretty close. Now, back to the subject at hand – why are they so 'if-you-tell-anyone-about-us-I'll-ruin-your-life'?"

"Because they're business rivals. The Oto– I mean, _his_ family and _her_ family both have medical companies," Hikaru supplied in a whisper.

"I'm not seeing the problem. Wouldn't a union between the two companies be in their best interests?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that," Hikaru said in a hushed voice, glancing towards Kyoya to see if he was listening. "You see, his dad wants her to marry his brother."

"But if it's still combining the companies, wouldn't it not matter?"

"That's what they're worried about. If it comes up that he's been cavorting with the enemy - for what, a year now? - his dad will be angry that he went behind his back and lied to him more than pleased for the sake of the company. I think that they think that his dad won't hand over the company to him in that scenario. It would also cause a huge rift in their family, since his brother wants to marry her and take over the company too. Imagine going to Christmas dinner with two vindictive versions of _him_," Hikaru shuddered.

"Oh. But they're going to have to address it _sometime,_ right?" I asked skeptically.

"As far as we know, they plan to as soon as he gets the company, but that's at least ten years in the future. They'll crack way before that, like it or not," Kaoru said.

"I dunno, they have the whole blackmail thing going for them. I think they're doing pretty good so far." I shrugged.

"Oh, they aren't. A ton of people know about it. Nobody on his side yet, but a quite a few on hers. I heard her talking about it with Haruhi when we were in Karuizawa this summer."

"Wait, she talked about it to him?" I looked over to the boy with the dark blue aura entertaining a few girls a table to our right. "Why?"

"You've already used up your question," they said together with a mischievous smile. "It's our turn."

"Whatcha' got?"

"Why can you see who we are, or our auras, or whatever you call it just by looking at us?" Hikaru asked

"It _is_ kinda strange," Kaoru added.

"I honestly don't know. I think it's an inherited thing, like how Neko is with his black magic. I haven't really looked into it, but there are rumors that I'm decsended from some sort of witch native to Siberia. I just consider it a useful talent."

"And it works on anyone?"

"Not exactly. I can't see mine except for in a mirror. If it's dark, or I don't see someone, I can't see their auras."

"I bet you hated it in the Black Magic Club, then. Nekozawa never turned on a light."

"It was okay. We could see... sort of."

"Remember when he came to the Host Club for help with his sister?" Kaoru grinned at his brother.

"Yeah, he practically died every time we brought out the flashlight."

I laughed, earning their questioning glances. After my giggling cleared, I explained the hilarity. "Neko always mentioned 'those murderous twins and a death beam' when he was whining about it being light out, but I didn't ever think it was you two."

After a few more minutes (closer to a half hour) of basic, conventional conversation, I felt something cold behind my shoulder. I turned slowly and, not exactly to my surprise, saw Kyoya standing there.

"I'm afraid you've exceeded your time limit, Miss Solovy-"

"Oh, don't you lie to me. There isn't a chance of you even getting close to letting me exceed anything. But, if you say so, I'll go."

I slung my bag over my shoulder and was nearly knocked over as two girls rushed to take my place. As I walked out the ornate door, I looked back at the table. Both the twins caught my eyes, and they flashed me two identical smiles that made my knees falter a bit. I closed the door as quick as I could without slamming it, hoping no one noticed my spreading blush. I sank down against the wall, my smile a bit too wide and hugging myself a bit too tight to be natural.

_God, what's happening to me?_

* * *

**Review! The more I get the quicker I update.**

**If I get ten, I'll update Wednesday. You know you want it ;)**

**V Click and Type! Right down there~ V**


	4. The Color of Unexpected Visits

**Yes! I got this out in time!**

**So, this would have been out Saturday, but an old friend of mine came over Friday at noon and wouldn't leave until, like, ten o'clock Saturday night. I like her, and everything, but after a straight twenty-four hours with someone I just kinda want to get rid of them.**

**Anyhow, I got this out. It's a bit shorter than usual, but hey, it's out. And it's thriving.**

**So, Chapter 4 ~ The Color of Unexpected Visits**

* * *

(Third Person)

"Hey Kaoru," Hikaru said on their daily limo ride home. "It's been a few days since Cyan came to the club, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, she came on Tuesday, I think. That was about two days ago."

"That means we've known her for what, about four, five days?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Have you ever wondered what type of house she would live in?"

"I've imagined it as some sort of obsidian castle, but I see what you mean," Kaoru smiled. "Maybe we should check it out."

"Maybe. Do you think the Shadow King will get too mad if we ditch tomorrow?"

"It depends on whether or not he's had his weekly dosage of April."

"I heard from Tamaki they're going out Friday night," Hikaru supplied.

"And it looks like we are too," Kaoru grinned.

* * *

(Cyan)

A few days passed since my last visit to the Host Club. I hadn't gone to see the twins again, half because I wanted to create mysterious persona to keep my visits interesting, half because I had no idea how much I wanted to be around them. A pair of sexy twins are _excellent_ to ogle at, naturally, but be in a relationship with… that was a totally different story. I guess a friendship would be optimal, but due to the way I turned as red as my dress whenever I got near them that probably wasn't a long-term solution.

"Miss Solovyov," April greeted me in her standard not-exactly-warm way as she walked to the plain gray convertible she drove. School had just gotten out, and the standard who's-who-of-wealthy-Japanese-folk was pouring out the door.

"You can call me Cyan, you know."

"Of course I know," she replied as she revved the engine of the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

"What a piece of work," I muttered to myself as I turned to find my limo. Finding it, I slid inside with a sigh of relief. It was a Friday, and I was more than anxious to get home and eat some of the chocolate-carmel-nougat-something creamy cake my chef always made at the end of the week. I had been waiting to sink my teeth into that all day, just gorge myself on-

"Hey," two synchronized voices said from the seat across from me. I shot up from my sugary fantasy to see two redheads sitting across from me, going through the stash of luxury sodas I kept in one of the pull-out-drawers under the seats.

"What are you doing?" I asked, quickly attempting to sound uninterested.

"We're trying to find something to drink. Anything you recommend?" Hikaru asked, checking the label on one of the cans.

"I recommend you get out of my limo," I said with a shrug.

"Nah. We want to see your house," Kaoru said, opening a peach-mango infusion.

"My-my what?" I almost screeched. Both the twins looked up from their drinks, curious.

"What's the matter?"

"Something you don't want us to see?"

"No. I really, really don't," I muttered, shifting along the wall to tap on the glass behind the driver's head.

"Yes, Miss?" the man asked.

"Hitachiin Residence. Step on it."

He gave me a sigh as an answer, but didn't change our route.

"Hello?" I asked, tapping the glass again. "Spacing out much?"

"Miss, I have been compensated by Mister Hikaru and Mister Kaoru to drive directly to your home."

"You're fired as soon as we get there."

"I am well aware of the consequences, Miss."

"Yup. We just paid him enough not to care," Kaoru grinned.

Hikaru matched his smile, making my heart leap slightly before remembering the point of their visit. "There's no problem money doesn't solve."

"You can't just _go_ to my _house_," I said, still attempting to direct them away from my disaster zone of a home. "Why can't you ask first?"

"We tried that with Haruhi," they replied together. "It took forever to get her to let us in."

"Wait, wait, wait… did you just say 'her'?"

The twins glanced at each other briefly then back at me.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hikaru shrugged.

"You should really get your ears checked," Kaoru agreed. "You're definitely hearing things."

"No, you said her… is he-slash-she a tranny?"

"It's pretty complicated."

"Got it," I groaned. "And why do I get the feeling that the Host Club has more secrets than I want to know?"

"Because you have supernatural perceptibility skills or something?" Kaoru shrugged.

"Thanks, but you're not coming inside my house. Ever."

"Too late!" Hikaru grinned as the limo came to a halt.

"Sweet mother of God, why do you hate me?" I murmured under my breath as the twins hopped out of the car. I followed them out with a groan.

"Spanish architecture!" they both cheered as they examined my not-exactly-quaint dwelling.

"Yeah, mom and dad wanted to take a piece of Spain with us when we moved. They had this house designed to be identical to our last one. Now, you've seen my house. You can leave."

"No can do. We have too much invested in this."

I groaned again as they opened up the front door and walked inside, looking around. _There goes my afternoon of chocolaty indulgence,_ I thought mournfully.

"Okay, you've been inside. _Now_ can you leave?"

"Not yet. Sheesh, it's like you want to get rid of us," Kaoru said as he picked a photo up off our dresser. "Why aren't you in this?"

It was taken a year ago, featuring my parents in the center, Jeffery and Ethan off to one side, James and Toby off to the other. I had refused to put on a ridiculously loose beige blouse and pencil skirt or stand in front of a toupee-donning photographer for an hour to hear 'good, just a bit to the left – no, no back to the right a smidge, there you go,' so I wasn't in it at all. I considered it a blessing, since I didn't like pictures anyways.

"I really hate being in photographs," I replied. "There are a lot of reasons, I guess, but really it really boils down to the point that if you aren't going to remember something without one, it's a kind of worthless event."

"Mmm," Hikaru nodded, moving to look at the picture next to his brother. "These your siblings?"

"Uh huh. Speaking of which, we should probably vacate the main hall before they arrive."

"How old's that one?" Kaoru asked, pointing to Toby.

"Um, twenty…four? No, no, twenty five… maybe twenty three, on second thought… somewhere in the twenties," I responded with a shrug. "Now, I again usher you to move to somewhere other than in a public, easily interruptible area commonly disturbed by small, annoying under-ten year olds."

"You aren't very close to your brothers, are you?" Hikaru asked, his aura turning slightly more toward upset than curious.

"Not really. That must seem pretty weird to you guys, huh?" I asked, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Yeah, it does," they replied together. "We've been together since birth."

"I couldn't imagine being near my brothers for over an hour," I laughed. "You guys are really special."

"CyCy!" I heard Jeffery yell from upstairs.

"Go, go, go," I hissed under my breath to them while dragging them up the other flight of stairs and glancing behind myself continuously. I shoved them into the nearest door and closed it behind me, sighing with relief.

"What's that all about?" Hikaru asked while rubbing the arm that I had used as a pulley.

"That kid is the bane of this family's existence. If he found out I had _a _guy over, not to mention _two_, I would never, ever hear the end of it. So we avoid the cherubic demon, kay?"

"Mhmm. Just one question," Kaoru said, glancing around. "Is this your room?"

I whipped around, looking behind me at the large space that I spent the majority of your free time. I hadn't cleaned it in a good amount of time and refused to let any maid near it, due to the fact I found anyone who cleaned up other people's personal items for a living weird and slightly creepy.

"Oh, shit," I muttered, turning a light shade of pink. "You're leaving _now._"

"Really? Looking through your stuff would surely entertain us," Hikaru grinned, going to look through my drawers. I grabbed the back of his collar, pulling him away from my personal belongings. After using my free hand to open the door, I snatched Kaoru's tie and was about to drag them back down the stairs when I quite literally ran into my brother, James. We stared at each other for a second before he chuckled.

"Twins, Cy?" he asked, looking at them in what I took to be approval. "Great. I'm pretty sure that tops Toby's 'Australian cousins' story – God, how many times have we heard that? – but Mother dearest won't be too pleased when our wonderful older brother starts ranting about his achievement being surpassed."

"They're just visiting," I replied, slightly too quickly.

"Come on, Cyan," Hikaru murmured seductively, resting his head in the crook of my neck. "Are you embarrassed to tell him about us?"

"And after all we've been through together?" Kaoru asked, wrapping his arms around my neck, and moving his head closer to my ear from his position a stair above me. I tried to keep my blush down to a minimum, to no avail.

"Not now, guys," I groaned as James's grin widened. He pulled out his cell phone with a flourish and snapped a picture. I lunged toward him trying to grab the contraption, but he moved to the side, prompting me to stumble down a few stairs before grabbing the railing.

"What I would pay to see his face right about now," James grinned, hitting a button on the phone, presumably the 'send' one. "This'll be amazing."

"Hikaru, Kaoru, may I talk to you outside for a minute?" I asked, grabbing both of their ties and dragging them out the door. As soon as they were outside, I stepped back inside, closed the door, and locked it. "Bye, guys. See you Monday, if my parents haven't had me assassinated first."

"Come on, we were only joking," I heard Hikaru say through the door.

"Yeah, well, this would be one of those reasons that I hate photos; there is oftentimes very little context behind them. Guess what good ole' Mam and Pops are going to think of two hot guys nuzzling me?"

"Was it my imagination, or did you just call us 'hot'?" Kaoru asked, and I could almost feel his smirk.

"Good_bye_," I growled as I moved away from the door. James was smiling like a clown as he glanced down at his phone.

"Please tell me you only sent that to Toby," I groaned.

"Cousin Nekozawa might have received a copy," he said with a shrug. "And pretty much everyone that heard Toby bragging about 'Spring-Break 2006'.

"That's like, fifty people!"

"You bet it is, sister. I sent you a copy too, if you want to see it."

I pulled my phone out of the pocket of my dress and checked the message quickly. The picture showed me, Hikaru an my right and Kaoru on my left, both of them a bit too close to my head to be 'just friendly'. Especially with Kaoru practically draped over me. I was glancing up at Kaoru with an exasperated look on my face. Underneath the image was the message "Look who beat Big Brother".

"You know you probably just ruined the shaky relationship I possess with our parents," I groaned at James, who was again glancing at his phone.

"Yup. Our cousin Jamira say to tell you congratulations and ask if they have another brother."

"Well, they don't. I'll be in the kitchen," I muttered, going to scoop a good load of chocolate cake into my empty stomach before I was grounded for life.

_Those damn twins… _ I thought angrily as I grabbed a fork from the dining room table and making my way to the kitchen to eat. _I'm going to wind up killing them someday._

_At least my extended family will think I have a –two – boyfriend…s._

_Oh, God. Nekozawa's going to have a fit. Mom's going to faint. Dad's going to… ugh, get that falsetto tone he gets when he's angry._

_Maybe this year will be a little less amazing than I thought…_

* * *

**I hope that wasn't OOC, I was thinking about that halfway through, but all in all I think it was okay. **

**See ya next week~!**


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